Behind The Games
by Jaaannn
Summary: One Shot. A short story about Mario and his friends. How do they feel being trapped into a game they are forced to play? What are their feelings? Written purely because I'm stuck with my other stories.


_When the games are over_

A/N: This must come as a suprirse because who writes Mario Party fanfiction but I found my sister's DS last week and I've been playing non-stop. And since I'm kind of stuck with 'The Bet' (no worries, I'm not giving up) I figured- why not a short story about game characters?

edit; thanks to ChocolateTeapot for pointing out that I forgot to place horizontal lines. I did it in Word, but I forgot that doesn't place them automatically ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I make no profit.

She sighed quietly as she watched her friend hop by. Three more rounds, and they'd be done for the day. She hoped, at least. She groaned as a shadow fell over her, it was her turn. She waited a millisecond and then jumped up. She heard Peach gasp and couldn't help making a small jump of joy. She had timed perfectly, and hit the block just as the ten passed.

She easily jumped over the blue and red coloured spots, and she was relieved when she successfully passed a Star-Hex. After three coins rained down on her, she allowed her mind to wonder again.

Three years ago, she and the rest of her friends had been cursed into this game, forced to play until they were either free, or.. She mentally shook her head; there was no 'or.' They had to play until one of them managed to kill Bowser, thus freeing their entire group.

After she watched Luigi being brutally crushed by a Star-Hex- which earned her two stars, getting her in the first place- she patiently waited until a mini-game was chosen.

* * *

They had been rough this time. The saying 'things will get easier with time' may be true in some cases, but it still wasn't easy to see the love of your life being sucked down the water by a giant fish. Through the entire game she had to remind herself that Mario wasn't dying; he was merely being transported back to the game board, albeit through a rather cruel way.

She was glad he had to take eight steps, making him stand next to her. While Luigi was playing the piano that was in Toadette's Music Room for coins, she and Mario could talk a bit- an opportunity that rarely showed itself during a game.

"How are you holding up," Mario asked with concern in his voice. She sighed and turned around, her long skirt swishing as she moved. "Honestly," she said with a grim smile, "I'm tired." Mario nodded as he looked at his love. He could see that she was tired. He looked around the board and watched Peach and Luigi. They were all tired. Tired of this game, tired of being stuck in a world, with little chance at escape. He moved carefully, as to not alarm the players around them, and grabbed her small hand in his slightly bigger one.

If he were honest, even though he was fed up, he was partly glad that Bowser minimized them all those years ago. It had brought him and Daisy so much closer, for which he was grateful. Much of his friends were lonely at night, when the game shut down and the lights went off, but he and the princess next to him would always find each other.

They would talk, but never for a significant amount of time, because the nights were never long, and when they fell asleep, they kept each other warm. He would hold her when she cried, when her nightmares got the best of her, and she would soothe him when he got too angry, to the point his insides felt like lava.

He winced slightly as he saw Luigi fall to the ground, hit by yet another drumstick. His heart bled for his brother who had gotten less careful and more reckless in the past few weeks. Mario feared that something had snapped in Luigi, and that his younger brother had given up.

* * *

Damn it, he thought as he grabbed his head. This one hurt. By now, he was used to the blows his head got to endure, and he was more than grateful for the fact that he was wearing his hat, which protected his head somewhat. He looked at his brother and the pretty princess next to him. He was happy that his brother had found Daisy- everyone could see they made each other better.

He sighed to look at Peach, who hopped over the board, skilfully dodging the red spots, ending on a 'duel'- space. He was always relieved when the duel-spaces appeared- it meant that the game was almost over, that their day was done. He hoped that Peach didn't pick him this time. He hated fighting with her, and for what? Some stupid coins, useless stars. It wasn't worth it and Luigi was tired. Tired of the unfair games, tired of fighting his friends and family, tired of not knowing how long he could sleep. He wanted it all to end, wanted to kill that bastard Bowser, so he could get some rest. He watched as Peach's eyes fell on him. Shit.

* * *

Her eyes were always drawn to him, no matter how far away he stood from her. He was like a magnet, and she was a hopeless piece of iron, forced to find her way to him. She didn't want to duel with him- she'd give him anything without any fights. He had her. Her heart belonged to him. All her coins, her stars- she fought everyday to win, so that maybe she could kill Bowser, and he would be free.

After months, she finally realized it. She loved him. Not in the way that she wanted to be with him, perse, but in the way that she'd do anything to get him free. Even if it meant spending the rest of her life fighting a war against a force much stronger than her. Stronger than all of them.

She had cheated this time. She had known which fish hung on what rope, and she was glad she had this small part of luck on her side. It meant that she could at least eliminate one false rope, giving him a better chance at grabbing one with a fish attached. She hate the feeling of falling into the water, being sucked through some sort of time-less space, and then being thrown on the board again. She knew that he was much better off; the winners were always better off.

A/N: okay yes I don't know if you like it and I don't think this is going to be any longer but this just wrote itself. Okay.


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